1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates, generally, to support apparatuses such as stretchers and gurneys. More specifically, it relates to retractable support structure that permits a patient or object to remain substantially stationary prior to transportation on said support structure.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Apparatuses and methods for lifting and transporting objects are well-known in the art. In particular, stretchers and gurneys are examples of such apparatuses for lifting and transporting patients in need of medical care, typically in emergency medical services, military, and search and rescue personnel. The simplest of stretchers basically consist of an elongate tubular frame with a flexible material, such as canvas, disposed therebetween for supporting the weight of the patient thereabove. A significant problem that arises with this type of stretcher is in patient transfer onto the stretcher itself. It can be very difficult to lift a patient and position him/her on the stretcher, for example if the patient is morbidly obese or if any movement would cause further injury to the patient, which can be typical of back injuries. Another method of positioning the patient on the stretcher is by trying to slide a fabric sheet underneath the patient by rolling the patient from side to side and pulling the sheet through, underneath the patient.
Because of these particular patient transfer problems, scoop stretchers were developed, where the stretcher is detachable on each end and separable along a longitudinal axis of the stretcher. Each half can be positioned underneath and on each side of the patient, and then the ends of the stretcher are reattached underneath the patient so that the patient can be lifted with the scoop stretcher. Even using this mechanism, there can be difficulties positioning each half of the stretcher beneath the patient, and particularly with obese patients, there is risk of pinching the patient's back when closing or re-connecting the stretcher, which of course causes pain to the patient.
Another difficulty with conventional stretchers arises when the patient needs to be situated in any position other than completely horizontal, such as in the less-common Trendelenburg position or the more-common Semi-Fowler's position, Fowler's position, and High Fowler's position (i.e., any position where the head should be positioned above the body, even until sitting upright). Folding stretchers can alleviate this difficulty to an extent, but they experience the same issues as the stretchers previously discussed. Those issues may even be further exacerbated, as patient transfer can be very difficult into a more seated or upright position.
It can be understood that even if the object being transported is not a patient, these same difficulties would be experienced, specifically the ability to lift and position the object on the support apparatus.
Examples of apparatuses that try to alleviate these problems include Chinese Patent No. CN102697616A; U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,036; U.S. Pat. No. 4,669,137; U.S. Pat. No. 6,971,126; U.S. Pat. No. 7,200,881; U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2012/0291196; International Application No. PCT/GB00/03992; and International Application No. PCT/GB2003/004623. However, none of the foregoing are able to provide a support apparatus or stretcher that permits transportation of the patient without having move the patient onto the stretcher at all. Thus, the forgoing pinching and patient transfer issues still do exist in the art.
Accordingly, what is needed is an improved support apparatus, such as a stretcher, that facilitates and entirely eliminates these patient/object transfer issues. However, in view of the art considered as a whole at the time the present invention was made, it was not obvious to those of ordinary skill in the field of this invention how the shortcomings of the prior art could be overcome.
All referenced publications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Furthermore, where a definition or use of a term in a reference, which is incorporated by reference herein, is inconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein, the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definition of that term in the reference does not apply.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate disclosure of the invention, Applicants in no way disclaim these technical aspects, and it is contemplated that the claimed invention may encompass one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.
The present invention may address one or more of the problems and deficiencies of the prior art discussed above. However, it is contemplated that the invention may prove useful in addressing other problems and deficiencies in a number of technical areas. Therefore, the claimed invention should not necessarily be construed as limited to addressing any of the particular problems or deficiencies discussed herein.
In this specification, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge, or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which this specification is concerned.